Five Minute Man_A Contemporary Love Story

by Abbie Zanders

  “When are you going to see Holly again?”

  Adam popped open a beer and sat down in his favorite chair. As annoying as it was, Brandon was much better at this stuff than he was, just like his father. He might as well take advantage of it. “What’s acceptable these days?”

  “You really like her?”

  Did he? That would be a great, big hell yes. He nodded.

  Brandon sat back, contemplative. “Then you don’t want to wait too long. You want to give her time to think about tonight, but not too much. I’d give it three days, then call her.”

  Three days? That sounded like a long time. Especially when the weekend loomed around the corner with no plans, other than working around the house. Alone.

  Adam made it twenty-four hours. Less than that, really, considering it had been after eleven when he had finally hauled his sorry ass home and it was barely seven p.m. the next day. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her or playing the “what-if” game. What would have happened if he had kissed her? Would he have been able to stop? Would she have wanted him to?

  The moment he heard her soft “hello” over the phone, the words rushed out in a jumble.

  “Hi, Holly. It’s Adam. Listen, I know it’s short notice, but would you be interested in getting together tonight? If you don’t have other plans, that is.”

  BEFORE ANSWERING, HOLLY held the phone in her hand and looked at the tub of chocolate marshmallow ice cream she had just bought and the bag of white popcorn kernels. Yeah, she had plans. The same plans she had every Friday night—order a pizza and veg out with Max, watching movies while ingesting empty carbs in massive quantities as a reward for being good all week. Spending time with Adam would trump that easily.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  He hesitated as if the question was unexpected. “Maybe dinner in town, a movie at the Cineplex?”

  Holly frowned. As much as she wanted to see Adam again, the thought of hitting up an overpriced movie theater filled with noisy teenagers and cell phone addicts on a Friday night was daunting. It would be loud and crowded, neither of which she found appealing.

  Making a split-second decision, and taking a tremendous leap of faith, she asked, “What about pizza and Netflix instead?”

  “Even better.”

  “Awesome. Pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese okay?”

  She thought he groaned. “More than. I can pick it up on the way. Can I bring anything else?”

  “I don’t think so. I have a six-pack in the fridge, popcorn, and ice cream.”

  “Perfect. See you in an hour?”

  “We’ll be here.”

  “I HOPE YOU’RE NOT PARTIAL to your crust,” Holly said later as she straightened out the edges of the fluffy blanket and plopped down on the floor, picnic-style. The lights were down, the movie selected, the pizza was hot and fresh, the beer cold, and the miniature, table-top popcorn machine was plugged in and ready to go.

  “Why is that?” he asked.

  “Max usually calls dibs.”

  They both looked at the big dog who was currently lying on the blanket between them. Though he appeared to be in the same position as he had been only a few minutes earlier, he had snuck, commando-style, several inches closer to the pizza box. His concentration was absolute, as if he could will the pizza into his paws.

  “I think I can share. Does he like popcorn, too?”

  “Loves it.” That was why Holly had pulled three bowls out of the cupboard instead of two.

  She worried for a moment that Adam was put off by the way she treated Max more like a person than a dog, but he seemed more amused than anything else. And he did seem to like Max. She had seen him slip pieces of fortune cookies under the table to him the night before. For his part, Max seemed to have taken to Adam just as quickly.

  Chapter 13

  The movie was both funny and filled with action, a flick about so-called retired special agents finding themselves back on active duty.

  Adam had been a little worried at first when she had suggested Netflix. What if she was really into those tearjerker chic flicks? Not that he wouldn’t be willing to sit through one if it meant spending time with Holly, but this was so much better.

  Once they’d had their fill of pizza, they paused the movie and made popcorn. When they started it up again, she sat closer to him on the floor, enough that their shoulders touched. Warmth spread through him from the point of contact, sinking deep into his overworked, tired muscles. As entertaining as the movie was, it was difficult to pay attention when all he could think about was how nice it was to have her next to him.

  As the final credits rolled across the screen, Adam turned to look at Holly, only to find her already looking at him. Her gaze moved from his eyes down to his lips. He had been able to resist kissing her once, but that same strength fled him now.

  He leaned toward her slowly, giving her every opportunity to stop him, to turn away, but she didn’t.

  His lips brushed hers, tasting of salt and butter. They were so soft. Soft and full, parted slightly in clear invitation.

  Adam deepened the kiss, his tongue allowing him a proper taste, and groaned. Needing more, he cupped the back of her head, her hair like silk beneath his fingers, holding her exactly where he needed her to be.

  It felt as if liquid heat had been injected into his veins. Every nerve fired to life in a wave that started from where their mouths met and flowed outward from there. In those moments, everything else ceased to exist. There was only Holly. Her taste, her scent, her soft and pliant mouth, and the hesitant, exploring touch of her tongue.

  Never before had he been so affected by a mere kiss. Never before had he felt such a sense of rightness, nor a blaze of hunger so hot and fierce that it threatened to turn him to ash where he sat.

  When he finally pulled away, he looked into her eyes and saw the same dazed wonder he knew must be mirrored in his own. He wanted to say something, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a single, coherent thing to say. The only words popping into his mind were “more” and “fuck yes.”

  Her lips were darkened and slightly swollen from his kiss, her skin was flushed, and her eyes sparkled.

  She stared at him, her little pink tongue grazing over her bottom lip, and said, “I think Max has to go out.”

  It took a moment to translate her words over the rush of roaring blood in his ears, obviously on the express train south where the rest of his blood seemed to be gathering.

  He was vaguely aware of Max pushing his way up between them, his paw coming to rest on Holly’s arm.

  Somewhat shaken, Adam leaned back enough to allow Holly to rise.

  What the hell just happened?

  HOLY EARTH-MOVING KISSES, Batman!

  Holly knew she was moving toward the back door, but it was not by conscious effort. Her feet took care of the left-right-left-right forward motion, her hand automatically reached for and opened the door. She even managed to step out into the cool summer evening and inhale a few deep breaths.

  She had read about kisses like that. Had even written about them herself. However, she had never actually experienced one before.

  One minute, she and Adam were sitting next to each other; the next, his lips were on hers and she was lost. For a few minutes, everything else ceased to exist, and there was only Adam ...

  The feel of Adam, all hot, hard, and warm.

  The taste of Adam, salty, sweet, and spicy.

  The scent of Adam, clean, fresh, and male.

  If not for Max’s interruption, would they still be kissing? Or would they have progressed to other things? Would Adam’s hand have moved to cup something other than the back of her head? Would his skilled mouth have found something besides her lips to stroke and sip?

  More importantly, would she have allowed it?

  Absolutely.

  Holly wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, and not from the gentle breeze. It was completely unlike her to lose control so quick
ly, especially over a kiss.

  But, Good Lord, what a kiss!

  Holly was a staunch advocate for the five-date rule: no sex until after a minimum of five dates, and they had to be good dates that spanned a multitude of venues and activities, not just hanging out at a bar or watching a game. Since she could count the number of men who had actually made it that far on one hand, she didn’t have a lot of experience. Of those who had made it to the magical fifth date, none had managed to light a fire in her core the way Adam’s kiss had just done.

  Had it been the same for him? She had been pretty out of it when he had finally broken away, but when she had managed to pry open her eyelids, she thought he had looked every bit as lost in the moment and stunned as she felt.

  Her lady parts tingled with a potent combination of hope, lust, and anxiety.

  The big question was: what was she going to do about it? Technically, this was only the third time her and Adam were seeing each other. Coffee, dinner and a house tour, pizza and a movie. Was she willing to break her five-date rule? Was she strong enough to go back to kissing—yes, please!—and not melt into a puddle of desire at his feet?

  One thing was for certain, she thought as she impatiently waited for Max to do his business. She sure wasn’t going to find any answers out on her porch.

  As it turned out, she wasn’t going to find any in her living room, either.

  Chapter 14

  Adam put the last of the throw pillows back on the couch with a little more force than necessary. The television was off, the remnants of their indoor picnic had been gathered, and the immediate area tidied.

  He was still reeling from that kiss, though it seemed woefully inadequate to describe what they had shared simply as a kiss. He had kissed women before. This had been different.

  He could still taste her on his lips, still feel the way she had softened so readily for him. His thirty-two-year-old body felt eighteen again, hot and hard, and pumped up with primal urges. His heart raced, filled with promises, even as his mind warned him to slow the hell down.

  From a fucking kiss.

  He didn’t have to turn around to know that Holly had returned; he could sense her. His cock throbbed in welcome as she hovered in the archway separating the living space from the kitchen area, looking every bit as off-balance as he felt. It was that, the hint of vulnerability, that made up his mind for him.

  “I should be going,” Adam said huskily. His eyes flicked over her, but he didn’t hold her gaze. If he allowed himself to look into her eyes and see the passion burning just below the surface, he couldn’t be responsible for his actions. He wanted her with a ferocity that shook him to his core.

  Disappointment and confusion flashed in her eyes as Holly accepted the empty popcorn bowls he thrust into her hand. “Okay.”

  “I had a great time.” The words fell so far short of the mark that he winced. It sounded more like an insincere platitude than the heartfelt sentiment it was. The evening had been perfect, exactly what he needed after a long day of busting his ass. Holly had been perfect.

  How was it that he felt so comfortable, so at peace around her, when he hardly knew her? At least until he had started kissing her. Then the comfort and peace burned up like dry tinder in the sudden flames consuming him from the inside out.

  “Me, too.”

  Was that a reflexive response or a genuine one? It was hard to tell. Her voice gave nothing away, and she was looking down at the bowls in her hands instead of at him so he couldn’t see her expressive eyes.

  “Thanks for having me.” Shit! That sounded even worse. Forget eighteen. He had regressed to the awkward banter of a twelve-year-old.

  “My pleasure.”

  She walked him to the door and opened it, keeping her body slightly behind it as if subconsciously putting a barrier between them. Unlike the other night, she made no move to follow him onto the porch.

  Adam hesitated. Maybe leaving was a mistake. It wasn’t like him to panic like that. Maybe he just needed to take a breath and follow his instincts. She had been right there with him, he was sure of it.

  Holly made the decision for him. “Drive safely.”

  Nodding, he turned and walked to his truck. This time when he looked in the rearview mirror on his way out, he didn’t see her watching him go.

  Well, shit.

  HOLLY DIDN’T HEAR FROM Adam for the rest of the weekend. She tried not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to, especially after the kiss they had shared.

  “Kiss” really didn’t describe it at all. It was like trying to call the Adirondacks a series of consecutive bumps in the landscape.

  Maybe that had just been her. He might have not felt the same rush, the same all-encompassing tingles that had raced through her body demanding more. Hell, he might have felt just the opposite.

  She didn’t think so, though. Right afterward, when she had looked into his eyes, she could have sworn she saw the same awe, the same surprise she had felt.

  Although, it might be easier to believe that if he hadn’t practically left skid marks on his way out.

  The gum-smacking hostess at Applebee’s was one they hadn’t seen before. Holly decided right off the bat she didn’t like the girl, especially when they were told Brandon’s section was full and they were seated on the other side of the restaurant.

  “Whatever happened to the customer always being right?” Holly muttered.

  Liz looked back, narrowing her eyes at the young, ebullient foursome of college-aged girls sitting at Liz and Holly’s usual table and shamelessly vying for Brandon’s attention. As a matter of fact, nearly all the tables in his section were occupied by young females.

  She snorted. “Looks like we’ve been put out to pasture.”

  “Whatever,” Holly said, feigning disinterest. She had been hoping maybe Brandon would say something about his uncle, but that wasn’t likely to happen now. “Next week, maybe we should change things up a little. We can hit up Chili’s or Olive Garden instead.”

  “Works for me.” God bless Liz, she got it.

  After waiting much longer than usual, they gave their selections to the plump, middle-aged server with the bad dye job.

  Liz wasted no time swooping in for the scoop the moment the woman moved away. “So ... What’s up with you and the contractor?”

  Because Liz was her best friend, and because Holly felt like she was going to implode if she didn’t talk to someone, she brought Liz up to speed. Maybe Liz could help her sort things through, because Holly wasn’t doing very well on her own. A best friend’s biased, semi-objective analysis was just what she needed.

  “Back to back evenings, then nothing?” Liz asked, frowning. “What’s up with that?”

  “You’re the one with real-life experience. I was hoping you could tell me.”

  “Maybe he’s afraid things are moving too fast,” Liz said thoughtfully. “If you guys hit it off as well as you say you did, he’s probably pissing his pants right about now. He might just be giving it a few days, letting things settle until he can make sense of them.”

  “Maybe,” Holly said doubtfully.

  “Or ... maybe he’s waiting for you to make the next move. He asked you to coffee, you invited him over, then he called and asked you out. Could be your turn.”

  It sounded reasonable enough when Liz put it that way, but Holly didn’t think so. It just didn’t feel right.

  “You think?”

  Liz shrugged. “Hard to say. Some guys love it when the woman makes a move, some guys hate it. What’s your read on him?”

  “I don’t know.” Holly wasn’t sure that second time really counted as her asking him out, especially since they spent most of the night talking about renovating her cottage. Adam had been the one to suggest and provide dinner, so technically, he was the one who turned it into something more than a professional consult, not that she minded in the least.

  “I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable calling him.” If he was having doubts, h
e might see it as pushy.

  “Yeah. I got the impression he likes to be the one taking the lead.” Liz tapped her fingernails, now a dark blue with silver sparkles, against the table. “You said he has pick-up games at the Y, right? Why not come to my yoga class with me this week? You could accidentally run into him on purpose and see how he reacts.”

  After briefly considering the idea, Holly nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Liz had been trying to get her to go for a while now. As much as she eschewed the idea of exercising in public, it would be worth it to see Adam again. She could use his reaction to seeing her as a kind of sign post, hopefully providing direction into the nebulous realm of what-the-heck-is-he-thinking. She could stop all of this non-productive obsessing and guessing, and move on from there.

  “Great. We can hit Target”—Liz pronounced it tar-jhay—“after dinner tonight and pick up a mat and some flattering yoga pants for you.”

  Holly frowned. “Why can’t I just wear my sweats?”

  Liz rolled her eyes and gave Holly a suffering look. “Because we want him to notice your ass.”

  Chapter 15

  Adam’s head wasn’t in the game. He had let too many guys get by him because he had caught a glimpse of Holly on the way in. She had been in one of the group exercise rooms, looking way too flexible in a tight black number that hugged her curves like a high-performance vehicle on a mountain road. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail as she smiled at the young yoga instructor who had been trying to demonstrate a pose that put her cute little ass high in the air and slammed him with a wave of heavy lust in the process.

  He forced himself to concentrate, stealing the ball and driving down the court. Shoot. Miss again. Damn. Well, at least he was consistent. He hadn’t made a decent shot all night.

  After the game, Adam hovered near the door, hoping to catch another glimpse of Holly. He hadn’t called her since leaving her place abruptly on Friday. Hell, if the dog hadn’t intervened, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself. That soul-searing kiss would have turned into some heavy petting, the kissing and fondling of several other areas, and probably hot and sweaty sex right there on her living room floor. Why that might have been a bad thing, he was having trouble reasoning out. What he did know was that he didn’t want to cock things up by moving too fast.